The Summer Court
'Basic Information'EditEdit Monarch: The Lady Claire Center of Power: Our Lady of Deep Waters Hollows: *The Summer Court boasts a large and well warded hollow connected to the Lady of Deep Waters. *Other smaller hollows serving as Summer watch towers and waypoints are common throughout the Freehold. Court Focus: Military matters and overt defense. Freehold Role: *Guard the Freehold and assure the safety of its citizenry. *Patrol the Hedge and maintain a network of paths. *Enforce Freehold law with honor and respect. 'Court History'EditEdit The Court of Summer has always had a strong martial tradition though the exact manner that this has manifested in has been known to change with the tastes of its monarch. The founder of of the Court in the Freehold, Dan McMcHand, favored a system of knightly orders, which is the image most Freehold changelings think of when they think of the structure of Summer. There have been variations of course, with the previous king preferring a more complex hierarchy based off of military ranks, but the rise of Lady Claire to the throne saw a rapid return to the system of knighthood. Summer has always made itself busy with the business of war, frequently doing its level best to keep the conflicts and struggles it frequently faces in the hedge out of the sight of their seasonal cousins. This has occasionally led the other courts to wonder exactly what it is that Summer does with its time, as they are unaware of the amount of effort Summer expends on making the Hedge of San Francisco as safe as it is. Summer is always proud, but it has never been stupid, it recognizes its weaknesses and has historically relied upon its fellows to help shore up its areas of deficit. 'The Court Today'EditEdit The War of Weeping Eyes made it readily apparent to the other Seasons that the role Summer plays is vital to the ongoing safety of the Freehold as a whole. While now more than a decade past, the war is used by older Changelings that remember its horrors to point out to younger upstarts that the lofty claims of Summer are more than just fancy words to dress up a glorified police force. Though their tales of honor, chivalry, and knighthood seem like romantic or naive notions to the jaded, they are burning truths to the Court of Summer and serve them as an aegis stronger than any forged armor or Wyrd conjured ward. The modern Court is both unified and effective. Summer has a unified nature and purpose, functioning less as a simple social group and more as a family. This nature is not something many new courtiers fully understand, but many come to appreciate as they rise to prominence in the Court. The foes of Summer should always to be wary, for attacking any one member of the Court invariably brings the wrath of all of them. Summer is well known for rapidly circling the Wagons to defend one of its own, though not for subtlety in either attack or defense. It was once well known that Summer relied upon the other courts to fill in their weaknesses, calling upon Autumn to supply Sorcerers and hedge experts, Spring for diplomatics, and Winter for stealth and information. WIth the rule of Lady Claire this has been alleviated somewhat. Claire has established several new orders of knighthood that attend to these roles specifically, though they do it from an obviously summer perspective. For instance, while Summer can now field a handful of their own Sorcerers, they tend to be tightly focused on combat and destruction rather than having a wide range of abilities. 'Summer Knightly Orders'EditEdit Summer recognizes the following areas of specialization, also known as Knightly Orders. Each order is traditionally associated with a particular weapon, though all Knights are given a Hedgespun sword upon being annointed by the Monarch of Summer as a symbol of their station. Not all knights join orders, many simply become Annointed Knights, swearing fealty to the crown without ever claiming a specialty. *'The Order of Indian Summer': Formed a decade ago by lady Claire. They function as diplomats and functionaries, though they tend to do so through sheer force of personality rather than gentle action. The Weapon associated with the knightly order is the bow, or crossbow. *'The Order of Low Paladins': Knights who masquerade as and move among the huge homeless population of the city. They tend to function as both first responders and the eyes and ears of the Court. The weapon associated with this knightly order is the knife or shiv. *'The Order of the Hedge Guard': Knight specialists who are trained in hedge survival and navigation. The frequently patrol paths through the thorns, monitor gates, and drive away violent hedge beasts and hobgoblins. The weapon associated with the knightly order is the ax. *'The Order of Thaumaturges': Summer Sorcerers and magi trained in the combat applications of contracts and Fae magic. The Weapon associated with this Knightly order is the spear or halberd, or more rarely, the mace. *'The Order of the Queensguard (Kingsguard'): An order that concerns itself entirely with the safety and will of the Monarch of Summer. They serve as the elite agents of the Crown. The weapon associated with this knightly order is the Back Sword (Bastard Sword). *'The Order of Sunseared Valiants': A seldom seen order that isolates itself in a few remote watchtowers and strongholds deep in the hedge. The order concerns itself almost solely with watching for incursions of the true fae. Deadly combatants, they return only on the direst summons from the Monarch of their season. Composed mostly of self exiled vetrans. The weapon associated with this knightly order is the Flamberg. *'The Order of Farriers': Order of craftsmen that supply summer with weapons and arms. Known for mundane goods as well as hedgespun wonders. They are famed for their profieciency in working with Iron. The weapon associated with this knightly order is the mace or hammer. *'Shieldbearer/Shieldmaiden': An order that is not an order made up of those who aspired to knighthood but either chose not to undertake the final oath of devotion to the crown. The reasons for this hesitancy can vary but usually occur due to untamed vices on the part of the knight or a feeling of personal failure, or a last minute uncertainty over which order they should be joining. Others choose this path to retain a layer of freedom to pursue goals through their own means. The smallest of the orders, many enter it with the intention of being eventually annointed into a true Order. The weapon associated with this order is whatever weapon is associated with the Order to which the Shieldbearer aspired to as a squire. 'Summer Factions'EditEdit Summer is a unified Court and is not fractured into disparate factions. Differences of opinion are common and those who hold them can be quite vocal, but in the end it is the word of the Monarch that is law to Summer Courtiers and supercedes any factional infighting. Summer does however recognize a system of ranks within its numbers. *Mule Squire: A Squire who has not been assigned to be trained by an annointed knight. The lowest ranking position available within Summer, it represents one who has yet to prove themselves worthy of patronage. There is a stigma associated with remaining a Mule Squire for a long period of time. *Squire: A inductee of Summer that is currently assigned to an annointed knight for training. The Squires are traditionally prepared for service in the Order of their Patron. When their Lord feels they are ready they will submit their name to the Monarch, who willd judge their worth and will annoint them as a Knight if they are pleased by the Squire's progress. *Knight: A agent of Summer who has been recognized by their lord as having completed their training and thus can be expected to handle responsibilities expected of a fully vested member of their order. As the Summer Monarch only has the authority to truly annoint knights in the season of their rule, most un-annointed knights are simply awaiting the coming of summer to be annointed. *Annointed Knight: A knight who has undergone the ritual acceptance of the Monarch of Summer and has recieved the sword from them that is the symbol of their rank.